Tom Sawyer style

Yesterday I gave the boys a bath. Okay, actually what happened was the boys scrubbed the tub for me. They needed a bath (boys get stinky sometimes) and the bathtub needed to be scrubbed, so we did things Tom Sawyer style (you seriously have to read Tom Sawyer if you haven't, and even if you have, re-read it. Classic.)

I have this mixture of baking soda and castile soap that makes a "natural" soft scrub and I told the boys they could each have their own sponge (what a thrill!) and I would let them go crazy with some scrubby stuff and they could knock themselves out scrub-scrub-scrubbing the tub-tub-tubby. (They like rhymes so it was sure to be a hit.)

That way they got clean, the tub got clean, and I got a chance to clean the rest of the bathroom while they "played." So we were all together and managed a lot of cleaning in a very short amount of time and I am very okay with that.

It was sort of a way to work in some work without stressing too much.


Post-bath, and they wanted to run around naked for awhile. I was thinking maybe up and down the hallway a couple of times, then they'd be ready for clothes. But no. Sharks told me he was running a half-marathon so we (Finn and I) should sit and cheer for him like we cheered for Pops at his race.

He then proceeded to run for half-an-hour straight. Up and down the hallway. Over and over and over. One time I made the mistake of cheering, "Go Sharks! You can make it!" and he said, "I am not Sharks, I am pretending to be Pops, so say 'Go Pops!'"

It was insane. I can't even run that long. About ten minutes into the "race" he said his side hurt. I was like, Yeah, that's called a cramp and sometimes runners get them but you just have to power through. He whispered "power through" to himself and started running faster.

The only running phrase I know is "Put down the hammer!" and actually I am not sure if that is legit or if that is just a Chet-ism, but I started saying that to Sharks and then he was running with his arm up and down like he was hammering. (I think it is in reference to your legs hammering down on the ground, but I am not sure.)

He would get tired and I'd tell him he could stop, but he kept saying he was in a half-marathon and that it was a very long race and he couldn't stop til the very end. I finally had to set the timer for ten minutes and told him once it beeped he had to be done. Those last few minutes were tough for him, but he kept going.

I have never seen anything like it. And now, I am off to exercise, with my three-year old as inspiration.